Objective: To evaluate the relative factors influencing olfactory dysfunction in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).
Method: Visual analogue scale (VAS) was applied to measure the severity of olfactory dysfunction of 270 patients with CRS. Patients were divided into two groups, one was that the quality of life (QOL) of patients was affected by olfactory dysfunction (VAS > 5), the other was that without QOL affected by olfactory dysfunction (VAS ≤ 5). The association between age, gender, nasal polyps, allergic rhinitis, smoking history, early nasal surgery history and other clinical factors, and serum total IgE level, peripheral blood eosinophil count, peripheral blood mononuclear cell count and olfactory dysfunction was analyzed.
Result: The number of patients with nasal polyps, allergic rhinitis, previous nasal surgeries, the level of serum total IgE, and the severity of edema were significantly increased in patients with impaired QOL associated with olfactory dysfunction (P < 0.05). Sex distribution, age, smoking history, deviation of nasal septum, eosinophil and mononuclear cell count did no statistically differ between the groups with and without impaired QOL associated with olfactory dysfunctions (P > 0.05). Serum total IgE increased (OR = 1.003, P < 0.01) and severe edema (OR = 2.483, P < 0.01) were the risk factors for the impairment of olfactory function, more notably for edema; whereas previous nasal surgeries was a protective factor (OR = 0.408, P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Sever edema and increased serum total IgE are risk factors, whereas previous nasal surgeries history is a protective factor for the olfactory dysfunction.